Department of Politics

Last updated: August 14, 2014 at 4:30 p.m.

Objectives

Undergraduate Major

The undergraduate curriculum is designed to prepare students for careers in governmental and nongovernmental service, policy analysis, journalism, law, and business, as well as for postgraduate work in political science. We are a department of "politics," and encourage students to engage important issues.

The Politics major explores how societies manage conflict and cooperation, organize the competition of differing ideologies and philosophies, and create and implement public policy.

Our goal is to deepen understanding of democracy and democratic systems, and the international and global contexts in which they operate. Politics courses enable students to broaden their perspective by familiarizing them with the ways others have engaged important political issues, from the classical philosophers whose works shape the Western tradition, to the modern theorists and practitioners who shape the discourse, policies, and practices of contemporary national and international political life.

Politics courses address the implications of difference, and particularly inequality, for democracy; the politics of ethnicity, race, religion and gender in the United States and abroad; the meaning and consequences of nationalism as a political force; the role of Islamic organizations and social movements in democratic political systems; the challenge of policing a diverse society; the global political economy of trade, money, investment and cultural exchange; and the strategic and economic dimensions of U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Courses in the department address the cultures and politics of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

Graduate Program in Politics The graduate program in politics offers two degree programs leading to the Master of Arts in political science and Doctor of Philosophy in political science. The graduate program in political science is distinguished by methodological emphasis on analytical case study, including comparative case study rather than abstract mathematical modeling or "large-n" statistical analysis. Substantive emphasis is on the politics of democratic and democratizing regimes. The graduate curriculum emphasizes linkages among the patterns of American political development, contemporary American politics, and the politics of other developed and developing democratic systems. The graduate curriculum also addresses the advanced industrial democracies of Western Europe, immigration and ethnic politics within states, the democratizing states of Eastern Europe, and the international political, economic, and military-security relations among these states. PhD students receive training in each of the major subfields of political science, including qualitative research methods, through graduate-level "field seminars."

The graduate program features: (a) instruction in small seminars under close faculty supervision, (b) supervised independent study within the program, (c) supervised teaching fellowships, (d) opportunities for study in the consortium of universities in the Boston area, and (e) the opportunity to incorporate work in related and relevant fields, for example, economics, history, and sociology.

Learning Goals

The Politics curriculum is divided into the four major subfields of political science: American politics, comparative politics, international relations and political theory. Introductory courses in each of the subfields provide foundational work in concepts and analytical approaches. The curriculum introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of political science, and emphasizes certain core skills, knowledge of critical institutions and processes, and the ability to engage issues of social justice.

Completing the Politics major enables students to develop the following Core Skills:

thinking critically about arguments, based on the evaluation of evidence

articulating reasoned arguments clearly, both orally and in written form

familiarity with a variety of research methods for understanding politics, including comparative case study, area studies, textual interpretation and statistical analysis

ability to use the concepts and methods of political science to conduct research and analysis

Courses in the Politics curriculum impart Knowledge about:

the functioning and distinctive features of the American political system

the diversity of other political systems and the significance of these differences

how states, societies and transnational actors cause and resolve conflict

foundational political ideas and thinkers

the origins and nature of democracy and democratic systems

The curriculum addresses the multiple understandings of individual and social justice, and how these understandings motivate conflict and cooperation around patterns of difference, particularly inequalities in wealth, status, and power.

The Politics curriculum prepares students for participation as engaged, active citizens. Upon graduating, Politics majors pursue careers in governmental and nongovernmental public service, policy analysis and advocacy, public relations, political campaign management, teaching, journalism and business, as well as post-graduate work in law, business, political science and other social sciences.

How to Become a Major

Declaration of the major normally is completed during the second semester of the second year, in consultation with the departmental undergraduate advising head. Students are strongly encouraged to take at least two or three politics courses during their first two years at Brandeis. These courses, which will count toward the nine-course major requirement, are normally selected from among the introductory courses, but may include more advanced courses or seminars, after consultation with the departmental undergraduate advising head and the course instructor.

How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program

The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, given in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to this area of study. Normally, the student's undergraduate training must be in a field of social science to be considered for admission to this program. Applicants are required to take the Graduate Record Examination. Evidence of successful study, research, and analysis at the graduate level is highly desirable.

Requirements for the Minor

Students considering a minor in politics are strongly encouraged to take at least two politics courses during their first two years at Brandeis. At least one of these should be an introductory course. Students should contact the departmental undergraduate adviser in order to initiate the process of declaring a minor.

A. All politics minors must complete satisfactorily at least five semester courses from among politics and cross-listed courses. A minimum of four semester courses counted toward minor credit must be taught by faculty of the Department of Politics.

B. No course grade below C will be given credit toward the minor. No course taken pass/fail may be counted toward the minor.

C. Not more than two introductory politics courses (POL 10a, 11b, 14b, or 15a) may be counted toward the minor.

D. At least one departmental seminar course.

E. Politics minors must take courses in at least two of the four Politics sub-fields: American politics, Comparative Politics, International Politics, and Political Theory.

F. Politics minors are not eligible for the departmental honors program, or for enrollment in politics graduate courses.

Requirements for the Major

A. All politics majors must complete satisfactorily at least nine semester courses from among politics and cross-listed courses. A minimum of five semester courses counted toward major credit must be taught by a member of the faculty from the Department of Politics (as listed above). No course grade below C will be given credit toward meeting the requirement of nine courses for the major.

B. No course taken pass/fail may count toward requirements for the major.

C. With the approval of the departmental undergraduate advising head, students may receive politics credit for the major for up to two semester courses satisfactorily completed at the university outside of the politics department and its cross-listed courses. Such approval is subject to several limitations. First, as stated under A above, majors must complete satisfactorily at least five courses taught by politics department faculty. Second, approval will be given only where the nondepartmental courses include a political science approach to the material. Third, in most circumstances, approval will not be given for any nondepartmental courses when a comparable course exists within the politics department or its cross-listed offerings. Cross-listed courses do not require approval to be counted toward the politics major.

D. With the approval of the departmental undergraduate advising head, transfer students and those taking a year's study abroad may apply up to four semester courses taught elsewhere toward fulfilling the requirements for the major. Students who study abroad for one semester may apply up to two semester courses. The five-course requirement of A, above, remains in effect.

E. All politics majors must, as part of the overall departmental requirement of nine courses, complete satisfactorily (with a grade of C or better) one course in each of the following subfields: political theory, American politics; comparative politics; and international politics.

F. The department strongly recommends that majors complete introductory courses in at least three of the subfields by the end of the sophomore year. These introductory courses include POL 10a (Introduction to Political Theory), POL 11b (Introduction to Comparative Government: Europe), POL 14b (Introduction to American Government), and POL 15a (Introduction to International Relations). Majors should consult with their politics advisors when selecting courses. All politics majors are required to complete one departmental seminar, usually during the junior or senior years, and are strongly urged to complete at least two.

G. Admission to the departmental honors program requires completion of at least five courses in politics, including one departmental seminar, and a cumulative GPA in politics of at least 3.50 by the end of the junior year. Candidates for departmental honors are required to (1) enroll in POL 99d (or POL 99a in the fall and POL 99b in the spring) under the direction of their thesis adviser; (2) participate in the honors colloquium under the direction of the head of the politics honors program; (3) complete the politics major; and (4) complete a senior thesis that meets credentials for honors work (consult the department Web site for the full listing of criteria). Students enrolled in POL 99a and 99b or 99d can receive up to two course credits for their completed work, and this will count toward the nine-course requirement.

H. With the permission of the instructor, third- and fourth-year politics majors may enroll in politics graduate-level courses for credit toward the major.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

The Department of Politics offers a Master of Arts program for part-time or full-time students. Full-time students will be expected to complete the course work in one year, and may take no more than an additional two semesters to complete a master's project as an Extended Master's student. Part-time students, with the approval of the department, may take up to four years to complete the required courses and a master's project. Students desiring to continue their studies toward the PhD must apply for admission to that program.

Course Requirements Students will be required to complete eight courses (with grades of B or better) as follows: two of the five core graduate field graduate seminars POL 211a (Political Theory), POL 212a (Qualitative Research Design and Analysis), POL 213a (Comparative Politics), POL 214a (International Relations), POL 215a (American Political Development), three courses from more specialized offerings, graduate-level courses (special topics courses or field seminars, as appropriate), seminars, and upper-level undergraduate courses (seminars and advanced lecture classes) that offer additional work for graduate credit; one directed study course culminating in a completed master's project, which can be an original research project, a comprehensive literature review (a critique of a subfield of political science), or another type of undertaking that is appropriate for the student's course of study; and a two-semester sequence of the Department Proseminar, a biweekly credit bearing pass/fail seminar for the presentation of research in progress, the acquisition of new methodological tools, and training in professional development.

Special Notes Relating to the Graduate Program

Degree of Master of Arts If the core seminar in the student's area of interest is not taught the year the student is in residence, the graduate adviser (in consultation with the student and his/her adviser) will designate an alternative course that will provide the student an overview of that field.

If appropriate, students may substitute other classes to fulfill the course requirements. All substitutions must be approved by the student's adviser and the politics department graduate committee.

Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Program of Study The student must complete three years in residence and a minimum of twelve term courses. The PhD curriculum has two main parts: a required core curriculum and electives. PhD students are required to take all five core graduate field seminars: POL 211a (Political Theory), POL 212a (Qualitative Research Design and Analysis), POL 213a (Comparative Politics), POL 214a (International Relations), and POL 215a (American Political Development). In addition, PhD students must complete a minimum of seven elective courses, chosen in consultation with the student’s primary academic advisor and the graduate advising head. All graduate students in residence are also required to enroll in the Department Proseminar, a yearlong pass/fail seminar for the presentation of research in progress, the acquisition of new methodological tools, and training in professional development. The Proseminar is in addition to the twelve course requirement.

The standard work load for full-time students is at least three graded courses, plus the Proseminar, in each term of their first two years of study. Fifth courses and audits are encouraged, but the load is deliberately set so that the student may supplement his or her regular course work with independent reading and scholarship. Reading courses will not be offered to first-semester students and will be discouraged generally during the first year.

Teaching Requirement The development of college-level teaching competency is an integral part of the department's professional training for the PhD. All funded students are required to serve as teaching fellows, typically for one course per term over a period of six semesters. Graduate students also must participate in the departmental graduate proseminar (POL 340d), a yearlong, pass/fail seminar focused on professional development, including teaching competency.

Research Tools Requirement Each student is required to either pass a language examination (normally administered within the program) designed to test for a reading knowledge of a foreign language sufficient to conduct doctoral dissertation research or pass with B+ or higher additional course work in statistics (beyond POL 212a) approved by the graduate advising head.

Language courses may not be counted for course credit toward the PhD.

Evaluation of the First Year At the end of each student's first year in the graduate program, there will be a consultation between the student and two members of the program to evaluate the student's academic progress to determine whether the student should be allowed to continue in the program and to help plan the student's subsequent work.

Satisfactory Progress and Qualifying Examinations PhD students must complete graduate courses with an average grade of A- or higher in order to maintain satisfactory progress toward the degree. Normally, at the beginning of the fifth semester, students sit for two written and one oral examination for candidacy for the PhD covering the student’s major and minor fields. By the start of the third semester, students should have identified their two examination fields and should make this choice known to the graduate advising head.

Students who satisfactorily complete the PhD qualifying examinations are expected to complete and present a dissertation prospectus at the departmental proseminar by the end of the seventh term in the program. Extension of this deadline requires approval by the department's graduate committee.

Dissertation and Defense The dissertation will be completed under the supervision of an appropriate member of the department's faculty. The dissertation proposal must be sponsored by a committee of at least two members of the faculty, appointed by the department's graduate advising head in consultation with the graduate committee and one faculty member from outside of the department. It is assumed that the writing of the dissertation will take at least one year and, barring exceptional circumstances, not more than two and one half years. The student must successfully defend the dissertation at a final oral examination conducted by his or her two departmental supervisors and another faculty member from outside the department or from another university.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

POL
10a
Introduction to Political Theory
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Open to first-year students.Examination of classical political texts and modern writings for insights on central problems of political discourse, such as power and authority, human nature, freedom, obligation, justice, and the organization of the state. Usually offered every year.Mr. Yack or Mr. Lenowitz

POL
11b
Introduction to Comparative Politics
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Open to first-year students.Introduces key concepts and questions in comparative politics and seeks to provide students with a grounding in the basic tools of comparative analysis. It applies and evaluates competing theoretical approaches (cultural, institutional, social-structural, and leadership-centered) to explain several important phenomena such as (1) democracy and democratization; (2) revolution; and (3) ethnicity and ethnic conflict. It also explores recent debates about the importance of civil society and political institutions in shaping political outcomes. Cases will be drawn from Africa, Asia, Western Europe, the Americas, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Usually offered every year.Ms. Bellin

POL
14b
Introduction to American Government
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Open to first-year students.Analysis of American political institutions: Congress, the presidency, Supreme Court, bureaucracy, political parties, pressure groups, and problems of governmental decision making in relation to specific areas of public policy. Usually offered every semester.Ms. Greenlee or Mr. Woll

POL
15a
Introduction to International Relations
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Open to first-year students.General introduction to international politics, emphasizing the essential characteristics of the international system as a basis for understanding the foreign policy of individual countries. Analysis of causes of war, conditions of peace, patterns of influence, the nature of the world's political economy, global environmental issues, human rights, and prospects for international organizations. Open to first-year students. Usually offered every semester.Mr. Art or Mr. Chase

POL
79b
War and World History
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Examines the subject of war in world history. We will explore answers to the following questions: why do wars, especially major wars, start? How has war affected the course of world history? How different, and how similar, does war look across the centuries? How has technological innovation influenced the conduct of war and the evolution of societies? Usually offered every second year.Mr. Art

POL
89a
Political Science Internship
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Students in the course examine political issues alongside professionals in the field. Students will evalute the applicability of political science theories and concepts to real-world politics. Seminar meetings and assignments provide perspective and a substantive basis for the internship experience. Usually offered every year.Mr. LaRochelle

POL
92bj
Internship
Offered as part of JBS program.Staff

POL
98a
Independent Study
Tutorial study on specialized topics, outside the regular curricular offerings of the departments, on interest to students and appropriate politics faculty person. Requires agreement between student and supervising faculty member on the specific topic and syllabus of readings and assignments for the tutorial, including written work required for the course (normally the equivalent of a term research paper). Students may count up to two such courses toward completion of the major. Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
98aj
Independent Study
Tutorial study on specialized topics, outside the regular curricular offerings of the departments, on interest to students and appropriate politics faculty person. Requires agreement between student and supervising faculty member on the specific topic and syllabus of readings and assignments for the tutorial, including written work required for the course (normally the equivalent of a term research paper). Students may count up to two such courses toward completion of the major. Offered as part of JBS program.Staff

POL
99a
Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
99b
Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
99d
Senior Research: Honors Thesis
Students will consult with the head of the politics honors program before being assigned to a professor for the supervision of their theses and will participate in a biweekly colloquium. Usually offered every year.Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

POL
100b
Political Science Methods: Research, Design, and Modes of Analysis
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Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.An introduction to nonstatistical research methods for analyzing political processes. Moves from selecting problems to composing a focused research question, examining relevant theory, conceptualizing variables, generating hypotheses, research design, research operations, and analysis. Uses examples from comparative, international, and American politics. Usually offered every year.Mr. Kryder

POL
101a
Parties, Interest Groups, and Public Opinion
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Role and organization of political parties, interest groups, and public opinion in the American political system. Emphasis on historical development and current political behavior in the United States in relation to American democratic theory. Comparison with other countries to illuminate U.S. practice. Usually offered every second year.Staff

POL
103b
Seminar: Political Leadership
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Examines political leadership through biographies, autobiographies, and biographical fiction. These are used to help us understand and compare different modes of political leadership, including the "apolitical-rationalist" (McGeorge Bundy), "political" (Lincoln, Johnson, Truman), and the ostensibly "non-political expert" (Robert Moses). Usually offered every year.Mr. Levin

POL
105a
Elections in America
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Examines modern campaigns and elections to the United States presidency and Congress. Topics include the influence of partisanship, policy differences, and candidate images on the vote; the impact of money on campaigns; the role of the mass media; and the differences among presidential, Senate, and House elections. Usually offered every third year.Staff

POL
108aj
The Police and Social Movements in American Politics
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Analyses American mass political movements, their interaction with police, and their influences on American politics. Topics include the relationship between social movements and various political institutions. Explore various theories with case studies of specific political movements. Offered as part of JBS program.Mr. Kryder

POL
111a
The American Congress
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The structure and behavior of the Congress. Emphasis on the way member incentives for reelection, power on Capitol Hill, and good public policy shape Congress. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Greenlee

POL
112b
Democracy in America
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Examines how political culture, theory, institutions, and processes define democracy in America beginning with eighteenth century constitutional framework. Also looks at the development of constitutional limits and prescriptions. Usually offered every year.Mr. Woll

POL
113b
The American Presidency
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Philosophical and historical origins of the presidency, examining the constitutional role of the chief executive. Historical development of the presidency, particularly the emergence of the modern presidency during the twentieth century. Contemporary relationships between the presidency and the electorate, as well as the other branches of government. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Kryder

POL
115a
Constitutional Law
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Analysis of core principles of constitutional law as formulated by the Supreme Court. Primary focus on the First Amendment, the equal protection and due process clauses, federalism, the commerce clause, and the separation of powers. Emphasis also on the moral values and political theories that form our constitutional system. Usually offered every year.Mr. Woll

POL
116b
Civil Liberties in America
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The history and politics of civil liberties and civil rights in the United States, with emphasis on the period from World War I to the present. Emphasis on freedom of speech, religion, abortion, privacy, racial discrimination, and affirmative action. Readings from Supreme Court cases and influential works by historians and political philosophers. Usually offered every year. Staff

POL
117a
Administrative Law
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The role of administrative agencies in lawmaking and adjudication. Emphasis on the problem of defining and protecting the public interest, as well as the rights of individuals and groups directly involved in administrative proceedings. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Woll

POL
120b
The Politics of Policymaking
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Examines the connection between politics and policymaking to identify the political determinants of public policy since the 1970’s. By paying close attention to what policy makers say about what they are doing, the course connects the world of ideas to the world of actions. The course examines concrete cases from specific time periods across a wide range of policy areas such as health care, tax policy, Social Security, education reform, immigration, tort reform,and deregulation. Usually offered every year.Mr. Levin

POL
121b
Political Partisanship, Policymaking and Coalition Building
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Focuses on "getting past no" through analyses of successful and failed attempts to build coalitions - that critical connection between politics and policymaking. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Levin

POL
122b
Seminar: Policy Analysis and Policy Implementation
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Development of a framework for policy analysis that integrates economic tools and political science thinking. Application of this "political economy" approach to several problems and cases. Usually offered every second year.Staff

POL
123a
Political Psychology
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Course open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.Explores public opinion, political socialization, and political behavior through the lens of psychology. Applying psychological theory to traditional topics in political science is emphasized. Usually offered every year.Ms. Greenlee

POL
124b
Race, Inequality, and Social Policy
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Explores the causes and consequences of economic, social, and political inequality in the United States. Examines trends from the perspective of both liberal and conservative social scientists. Asks what forms of inequality matter and what should be done about them. Usually offered every year.Mr. Mapps

POL
125a
Women in American Politics
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Addresses three major dimensions of women's political participation: social reform and women-identified issues; women's organizations and institutions; and women politicians, electoral politics, and party identification. Covers historical context and contemporary developments in women's political activity. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Greenlee

POL
127b
Seminar: Managing Ethnic Conflict
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Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.Comparative study of the sources and character of interethnic conflict, with emphasis on the processes by which groups become politicized, and the strategies and techniques for managing conflict in a democratic system. Usually offered every year.Mr. Burg

POL
128a
The Politics of Revolution: State Violence and Popular Insurgency in the Third World
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Introduction to twentieth-century revolutionary movements in the Third World, focusing on the emergence of peasant-based resistance and revolution in the world beyond the West, and on the role of state violence in provoking popular involvement in protest, rebellion, and insurgency. Usually offered every year.Mr. Thaxton

POL
129a
East European Politics
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Politics and society in the post-Communist states of Eastern Europe, drawing general lessons about the relationships among social modernization, nationalism, and democratic transition. Usually offered every fourth year. Mr. Burg

POL
133a
Contemporary Politics in the Middle East
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Examines the Western impact on the Middle East state system, and the key challenges to the stability of these states and to the regional order. Topics include Arab nationalism; religion and minorities, the Arab-Israeli conflict and other issues. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Bellin

POL
134b
Immigration, State, and Nation
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Looks at immigration from the perspectives of policy-makers, migrants, and the groups affected by immigration in sender nations as well as destination countries. Introduces students to the history of migration policy, core concepts and facts about migration in the West, and to the theories and disagreements among immigrant scholars. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Klausen

POL
135b
The Politics of Islamic Resurgence
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Studies the impact of Islamic resurgence on both international and intra-national politics. It explores the competing explanations for Islamic resurgence (cultural, economic, and political), Islamic movements in comparative perspective (with special emphasis on the cases of Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Britain and France), the successes and failures of Islamic revolution, the ideological content of Islamic revival (and debates over the potential conflict with Western notions of democracy and gender equality). Islamic notions of jihad, terror in the name of Islam, the politics of cultural change, and Islam as a supranational movement. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Bellin

POL
138b
Israeli Politics In Comparative Perspective
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Introduces students to the Israeli political system through a comparative lens. We will discuss various issues, such as political and socioeconomic development, cultural diversity, and ethnic conflict, as well as how they are manifested in Israeli democracy. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Abu

POL
144a
Latin American Politics I
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Revolution, order, and regime transition in northern Latin America. Specific examination of the Mexican and Cuban revolutions and their outcomes. POL 144a is independent of POL 144b. Usually offered every year. Mr. Hindley

POL
144b
Latin American Politics II
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Emphasis on elite control, the military, the political role of populist politics, and the uncertain process of democratization. Brazil and Argentina are examined specifically. POL 144b is independent of POL 144a. Usually offered every year.Mr. Hindley

POL
145b
Muslims in the West: Politics, Religion, and Law
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Few issues have caused more public furor than the accommodation of Islam in Europe and the United States. It is often overlooked that Muslims are developing the institutions of their faith in societies that offer everyone the freedom of choice and expression. This seminar looks at religious discrimination as a barrier to the civic and political inclusion of Muslim immigrants, the responses of governments, courts, and the general public, and what we know about the balance among "fundamentalist, " "moderate," and "progressive" Muslim viewpoints. Usually offered every year.Ms. Klausen

POL
146b
Seminar: Topics in Revolutions in the Third World
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May be repeated for credit with permission of the instructor.Explores revolutionary situations, revolutionary movements (successful and unsuccessful), and revolutionary regimes in the Third World since World War II. Specific topics may vary from year to year. Usually offered every year. Mr. Hindley

POL
147a
The Government and Politics of China
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Introduction to major themes of Chinese politics, emphasizing the rise of the Chinese Communists and the post-1949 trends in domestic politics, while also surveying historical, sociological, and cultural influences in Chinese politics. Attention to the nature of the traditional state, impact of colonialism, national revolution, and the course of contemporary state development. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Thaxton

POL
148a
Seminar: Contemporary Chinese Politics
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A broad and in-depth understanding of key issues in contemporary Chinese politics--China after 1949. Emphasis on the role of the state in promoting economic development, social betterment, political stability, and justice. Special attention to the Tiananmen Protest Movement of 1989. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Thaxton

POL
150a
Politics of Southeast Asia
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Introduction to the politics of modern Southeast Asia, with the focus on the indigenous peoples and their cultures, societies, and histories. The greatly changed and changing political systems of Indonesia and Thailand are examined individually in some depth. Usually offered every year.Mr. Hindley

POL
151a
Seminar: Cultural Pluralism and Democratic Governance
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Prerequisites: Sophomore or junior class standing and at least two prior politics courses.How liberal democracies respond to the social and political challenges of linguistic, cultural, religious, racial, and gender differences. Examines legal, political, and normative issues arising out of these differences, and the implications of various responses for the stability of a liberal democratic state. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Burg

POL
153a
The New Europe: European Economic and Political Integration
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The institutions and policymaking processes of the European Union (EU). Western European political and economic integration since 1945 and the resurgence of European integration since the mid-1980s. Social policy issues, policy harmonization and economic integration, European citizenship, and the reorientation of national politics in response to community expansion. The future of European unity and national cultures. Usually offered every second year.Staff

POL
154a
Seminar: Citizenship
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Liberal theory presumes the progress of history to be, in the words of John Stuart Mill, a gradual "doing away with privilege." Examines the frontiers of social and political justice through readings drawn from literature, political science, and history. Usually offered every third year. Ms. Klausen

POL
154aj
Seminar: Citizenship
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Liberal theory presumes the progress of history to be, in the words of John Stuart Mill, a gradual "doing away with privilege." Examines the frontiers of social and political justice through readings drawn from literature, political science, and history. Offered as part of JBS program.Mr. Kryder

POL
156b
European Culture & Politics
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The comparative politics of Western Europe. Focuses on the development of political parties and social movements in Britain, France, and Germany--particularly since 1945--to determine how they affect policies and the citizenry's participation in modern democracies. Usually offered every third year.Ms. Klausen

POL
160a
The War on Global Terrorism
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Intended for juniors and seniors, but open to all students. Explores how 9/11 changed our lives. The course surveys the build-up of Al Queda leading up to the 9/11 attacks and ten years of counter terrorism. Students are given an introduction to Jihadist doctrines and Al Queda's structure, as well as theories about the cause of terrorism. Usually offered every year.Ms. Klausen

POL
164a
Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East
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Provides students with historical and analytic mastery of the Arab- Israeli conflict in a novel way. Through immersion in three competing narratives - Israeli, Palestinan, and pan-Arab - students will gain proficiency in the history of the conflict as well as analytic leverage on the possibility of its resolution. The course is organized as a seminar and is premised on active student participation. Usually offered every year.Mr. Feldman

POL
166b
Seminar: The Middle East in International Relations
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Explores how the concepts, theories, and paradigms from the field of International Relations can be used to analyze the politics of the Middle East. This class provides students a toolbox for understanding current and future developments in the ever-changing relations between the region's states. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Feldman

POL
167a
United States and China in World Politics
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Issues in U.S.-China relations, including Taiwan and Tibet, the formation of a Greater China, military security and use of nuclear weapons, human rights, Chinese and American versions of nationalism and internationalism, and others. Usually offered every year.Mr. Thaxton

POL
168b
American Foreign Policy
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Overview of America's foreign policy since 1945. Topics include the Cold War era, the economic competitiveness of the United States, the role of the United States in selected world regions, the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy, the U.S. participation in the United Nations, post-Cold War foreign policy, and the making and implementing of foreign policy. Usually offered every year.Mr. Art

POL
171b
National Intelligence: Theory, Practice, and Cinematic
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ss
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Examines the challenges of developing useful "intelligence" for policymaking, the nature of covert operations for intelligence, and how spy/espionage films shape popular understanding of intelligence and covert operations. Usually offered every year.Mr. Burg

POL
172b
Seminar: International Political Economy
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ss
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Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.The politics and modern evolution of international economic relations, comprising trade, money, multinational productions, and development. Also the role of states and transnational actors in international markets and the global differentiation of power, and distribution of wealth. Usually offered every year.Mr. Chase

POL
173a
U.S. Foreign Economic Policy
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oc
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Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above.Presents the history and politics of the foreign economic policy in the United States. Emphasis is on political and economic considerations that influence the domestic actors and institutions involved in the formulation of policy. Usually offered every year.Mr. Chase

POL
174b
Seminar: Problems of National Security
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ss
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Analysis of the role and utility of military power in international politics. Selected case studies from the last fifty years. Selected topics on post-Cold War military issues, including the spread of weapons of mass destruction, collective approaches to coercion, and the role of U.S. military power in world stability. Usually offered every year.Mr. Art

POL
176a
Seminar: International Intervention
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ss
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The evolution of international law and practice in use of force for the resolution of conflicts. Case study of major post-cold war cases of international intervention, including humanitarian intervention. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Burg

POL
179a
China's Global Rise: The Challenge to Democratic Order
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ss
]
Explores the implications of China's global rise for the global democratic order constructed by the United States in the aftermath of World War II. Among other issues, we will ask whether China's international strategy in Asia, Africa, and Latin America poses a serious challenge to democratic nations and their support for democratization. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Thaxton

POL
182a
Liberal Political Thought
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ss
]
An exploration of the history of liberal thought as well as contemporary critics and defenders of liberalism, focusing primarily on American and European authors. Authors may include Locke, Smith, Montesquieu, Mill, Tocqueville, Dewey, Rawls, Hayek, Shklar, MacIntyre, Oakeshott, Sandel, Walzer, and Okin. Usually offered every fourth year.Staff

POL
184a
Global Justice
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ss
]
Prerequisites: Two courses in Political Theory & Methods, International Politics or Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy.Explores the development of the topic of global justice and its contents. Issues to be covered include international distributive justice, duties owed to the global poor, humanitarian intervention, the ethics of climate change, and immigration. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lenowitz

POL
186b
Classical Political Thought
[
hum
ss
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Major ancient political philosophers and the meaning and implications of their work for contemporary political issues. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Yack

POL
187b
Conservative Political Thought
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ss
]
Focuses on American and European thinkers, with an emphasis on critics of equality and unlimited commercial and civil liberty. Readings include political philosophy and literature. Authors may include Burke, Oakeshott, Calhoun, Conrad, Hayek, Macintyre, and Strauss. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Yack

POL
188b
Modern Political Thought
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ss
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Provides a survey of major works of modern political thought, beginning with Machiavelli and ending with John Rawls. It proceeds by way of careful reading and discussion of their most important arguments and the issues that they raise. Usually offered every year.Mr. Yack

POL
189a
Marx, Nietzsche, and Twentieth-Century Radicalism
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ss
]
Comparison of two powerful and influential critiques of modern politics and society. Explanation of Marx's work, both for its own insights and as a model for radical theorists; and of Nietzsche's work as an alternative conception of radical social criticism. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Yack

POL
190b
Seminar: Democratic Theory
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ss
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Explores in depth the nature, virtues, and limitations of democracy as a way of organizing political affairs. Brings together classic texts, for example, Rousseau's Social Contract, with more recent topical readings on topics like democracy and nationalism. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Yack

POL
191a
Seminar: Punishment and Crime
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ss
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Examines theories justifying criminal punishment, and the practice of law enforcement, as a means of understanding our society and its values. Topics may include hate crimes, the law of self-defense, rape and others. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Lawrence

POL
192b
Seminar: Topics in Law and Political Theory
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ss
]
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher. May be repeated for credit if taught by different instructors.Interplay among law, morality, and political theory. Specific topics vary from year to year. Usually offered every year.Mr. Yack or Mr. Lenowitz

POL
193b
Track-II Diplomacy: Theory and Practice
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ss
]
Explores the theory, conceptual framework, and practicalities of Track-II diplomacy using case studies in the Middle East and Africa. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Feldman and Mr. Lempureur

POL
194a
Politics and the Novel
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ss
]
Selected works of fiction as sources of political ideas and pictures of political and social life. How modern fiction helps us understand social change, societies in transition and decay, revolution, law, bureaucracy, and ethnicity. Authors such as Kafka, Conrad, Borges, Dostoevsky, Ford Madox Ford, Babel, Greene, Malraux, and Carpenter. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Levin

POL
195b
Shakespeare and the Politics of Leadership
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ss
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Shakespeare as sources for understanding selected work of the role of leaders and followers, elites and masses, class and ethnicity, social change, the relations between disparate social orders, and societies ins transition. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Levin

POL
197a
The Supreme Court Colloquium
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Yields half-course credit. May be repeated once for credit. Two semesters of POL 197a are required to fulfill the social science distribution requirement.Intensive interdisciplinary study of the supreme court, with a particular emphasis on its current docket. After introducing students to the procedures of Supreme Court decision-making, the clash of interpretive methods, and the ebb and flow of the breadth and depth of the court’s power, the course will evaluate select cases from the 2014-2015 docket in real time, focusing on, among other things, social and political origins, institutional factors, legal argument and advocacy, and likely rulings and their possible effects. The Colloquium will also host numerous distinguished speakers to present on individual cases. Special yearlong offering 2014-2015.Mr. Kryder and Mr. Lenowitz

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

POL
200b
Quantitative Methods for Social Science
Open to GSAS students.Introduces graduate students in the social sciences to statistics and quantitative methods, including purposes and objectives of statistical inference, graphical and visual display of data, significance testing, and regression analysis. Usually offered every second year.Staff

POL
211a
Graduate Seminar: Political Theory
Core course in political theory, required of all Politics Ph.D. students.Explores a few themes, such as justice, freedom, and community, by means of careful reading of a selection of classical and contemporary texts. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Yack

POL
212a
Graduate Seminar: Research Methods and Methodology
Familiarizes students with the major research techniques of a qualitative nature for political science and addresses central issues in the logic of inquiry in social science. Issues and techniques include the case study method, the comparative method, counterfactual, and research design. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Kryder

POL
213a
Graduate Seminar: Comparative Political Institutions and Public Policy
Studies the ideas and institutions of representative democracy from a comparative perspective. Topics include parties and party systems, variations in constitutional government from presidentialism to parliamentarianism, the process and prerequisites of democratization, and the comparative politics of the welfare state. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Burg, Ms. Klausen, or Ms. Bellin

POL
213b
Graduate Seminar: Selected Topics in Comparative Politics
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in comparative politics. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Burg or Ms. Klausen or Ms. Bellin

POL
214a
Graduate Seminar: International Relations
Examines the international relations of national political systems. Topics include the impact of evolving international institutions and norms on the course of world politics; the effects of security, economic, and environmental factors; and the interaction between domestic politics and foreign policy. Special attention is given to American foreign policy and the changing place of the United States in world politics. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Art

POL
214b
Graduate Seminar: Selected Topics in World Politics
Provides graduate students an opportunity to engage in research and discussion of selected issues in the international dimensions of world politics. Each term it deals with a different topic in greater depth than is possible in the context of the program's field seminar in this area. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Art or Mr. Chase

POL
215a
Graduate Seminar: American Political Development
Examines the creation and evolution of national institutions in the United States. Themes include the influence of ideas on institutional development; the influence of institutional arrangements on conflicts and policies; and the changing nature of ideas and institutions, especially in such pivotal periods as the founding, the Civil War, the progressive era, the New Deal, and the 1960s and 1970s. Usually offered every second year. Mr. Kryder or Mr. Mapps

POL
298a
Independent Study
Staff

POL
302a
Readings in Politics
Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.Offered every year.Staff

POL
302b
Readings in Politics
Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
340d
Proseminar
Required of all PhD and MA students. Not for credit.Year-long course that meets biweekly. Focuses on professional development, including teaching competency. Offered every year.Staff

POL
349a
Directed Study
Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
350a
Master's Project
Master's project research and preparation. Usually offered every year.Staff

POL
400d
Dissertation Research
Independent research for the PhD degree. Specific sections for individual faculty members as requested.Staff

Cross-Listed in Politics: American Politics

AAAS
82a
Urban Politics
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ss
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Examines urban politics in the United States from the early twentieth century to the present. Topics include urban political machines; minority political participation; the evolution of American suburbs; and racial, economic, and political inequities that challenge public policymaking. Usually offered every year.Mr. Mapps

AAAS
114b
Race, Ethnicity, and Electoral Politics in the United States
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ss
]
Explores the role that racial and ethnic politics play in American political campaigns and elections. Readings provide historical, theoretical, and empirical overviews of racial and ethnic politics in four contexts: political parties, presidential elections, congressional campaigns, and state legislative contests. Usually offered every year.Mr. Mapps

HIST
160b
American Legal History II
[
ss
]
Survey of American legal development from 1865 to the present. Major topics include constitutionalism and racial inequality, the legal response to industrialization, progressivism and the transformation of liberalism, the rise of the administrative state, and rights-based movements for social justice. Usually offered every year.Mr. Willrich

HS
104b
American Health Care
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ss
]
Examines and critically analyzes the United States health care system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.Mr. Altman

HS
110a
Wealth and Poverty
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ss
]
Examines why the gap between richer and poorer citizens appears to be widening in the United States and elsewhere, what could be done to reverse this trend, and how the widening disparity affects major issues of public policy. Usually offered every year.Mr. Shapiro

LGLS
116b
Civil Liberties: Constitutional Debates
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ss
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Formerly offered as LGLS/POL 116b.The history and politics of civil liberties and civil rights in the United States, with emphasis on the period from World War I to the present. Emphasis on freedom of speech, religion, abortion, privacy, racial discrimination, and affirmative action. Readings from Supreme Court cases and influential works by historians and political philosophers. Usually offered every year. Mr. Breen

Cross-Listed in Politics: Comparative Politics

AAAS
175a
Comparative Politics of North Africa
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Explores the formation and development of political cleavages and cleavage systems, and of mass-based political groups, analyzing the expansion of mass political participation, elections, the impact of the military on political groups, and international factors. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Nyangoni

HIST
172a
20th Century Social Movements in the Americas
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ss
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Examines social movements in Latin America in the 20th and 21st centuries, covering feminism, labor activism, ethnic mobilization, peasant rebellion, environmental defense, resistance to dictatorship, anti-imperialism, and related topics. Usually offered every second year.Staff

HS
219f
Transitional Justice: Introduction
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit. Transitional justice is a relatively new and growing interdisciplinary field of study placed at the intersection between international law and justice, politics, human rights and conflict and peace studies. This module introduces the concept and practices of transitional justice. We review the various mechanisms of transitional justice, including: criminal prosecution; purges and lustrations; truth and reconciliation commissions; reparations and compensation schemes; revisions of national-historical narratives; official apologies; and, public commemoration. Usually offered every year.Mr. Hirsch

HS
258f
Transitional Justice: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Comparative Perspective
Prerequisite: HS 219f or the permission of the instructor. Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.Explores the applicability of the transitional justice framework and its different practices to historical and current aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will consider how developments in international law such as the International Human Rights Regime and the ICC affect the dynamic of the conflict. Drawing on other cases of international conflict (Northern Ireland, Indonesia/ East Timor) we will evaluate which, if any, of the transitional justice practices may advance or hinder an Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process and how useful might they be for longer-term peacebuilding and reconciliation. Usually offered every year.Mr. Hirsch

NEJS
185b
The Making of the Modern Middle East
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Open to all students. Discusses the processes that led to the emergence of the modern Middle East: disintegration of Islamic society, European colonialism, reform and reaction, and the rise of nationalism and the modern states. Usually offered every second year.Staff

Cross-Listed in Politics: International Politics

IGS/LGLS
180a
The Spirit of International Law
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ss
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Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.This course provides a broad survey of international law--how it aspires to peace, justice, and human rights; and how it meets the hard realities of a complex world. Building on direct contact with international tribunals, the course considers social, cultural, political, and economic factors shaping global justice, along with the impact of legal values on nations, regions, and communities. Usually offered every year.Mr. Gaskins

LGLS
125b
International Law and Organizations
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ss
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Introduction to international law, its nature, sources, and application, for example, its role in the management of international conflicts. Topics may include international agreements, international organizations including the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, states and recognition, nationality and alien rights, territorial and maritime jurisdiction, international claims, and the laws of war and human rights. Usually offered every second year.Staff

NEJS
189a
The Arab-Israeli Conflict
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Consideration of Arab-Jewish relations, attitudes, and interactions from 1880 to the present. Emphasis on social factors and intellectual currents and their impact on politics. Examines the conflict within its international setting. Usually offered every third year. Staff

Cross-Listed in Politics: Political Theory & Methods

FREN
111a
The Republic
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Prerequisite: FREN 106b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructor. The "Republic" analyzes how the republican ideal of the citizen devoid of religious, ethnic, or gender identity has fared in different Francophone political milieux. Course involves understanding how political institutions such as constitutions, parliaments, and court systems interact with reality of modern societies in which religious, ethnic, and gender identities play important roles. Usually offered every year.Mr. Randall

HIST
181b
Red Flags/Black Flags: Marxism vs. Anarchism, 1845-1968
[
ss
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From Marx's first major book in 1845 to the French upheavals of 1968, the history of left-wing politics and ideas. The struggles between Marxist orthodoxy and anarchist-inspired, left Marxist alternatives. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Hulliung

HIST
183b
Community and Alienation: Social Theory from Hegel to Freud
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ss
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The rise of social theory understood as a response to the trauma of industrialization. Topics include Marx's concept of "alienation," Tönnies's distinction between "community" and "society," Durkheim's notion of "anomie," Weber's account of "disenchantment," and Nietzsche's repudiation of modernity. Usually offered every fourth year.Mr. Hulliung

HIST
192b
Romantic and Existentialist Political Thought
[
ss
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Readings from Camus, Sartre, Beckett, and others. Examination and criticism of romantic and existentialist theories of politics. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Hulliung

HIST
195b
American Political Thought: From the Gilded Age through the New Deal
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ss
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Topics include the Mugwumps, Populists, Progressives; Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; the New Nationalism and the New Freedom; the continuities and discontinuities of the New Deal and the Progressive Era. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Hulliung

HOID
100a
Introduction to Critical Theory
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hum
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How should we understand the cultural contradictions of modern society? This course will explore the evolution of Critical Theory as developed by the early Frankfurt School, with a specific focus on the works of Adorno, Benjamin, Horkheimer, and Marcuse. Special one-time offering, fall 2014.Mr. Gamsby

PHIL
111a
What Is Justice?
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hum
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Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or political theory or permission of the instructor. What is justice and what does justice require? The course examines theories of justice, both classical and contemporary. Topics include liberty and equality, "who gets what and how much," welfare- and resource-based principles of justice, justice as a virtue, liberalism, multiculturalism, and globalization. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Smiley

PHIL
112a
Social Contract Theory and its Critics
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hum
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Prerequisite: One course in philosophy or POL 10a strongly recommended.Explores a variety of normative arguments for and against the legitimacy of the state that have been put forward by key figures in the history of western political philosophy; e.g. Hobbes, Kant, Rousseau, Hume, and Dewey. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Smiley

PHIL
121a
Normative Questions of the Welfare State
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hum
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Sets out to develop a normative framework for arguing about the value of particular aspects of the welfare state broadly understood. Usually offered every second year.Ms. Smiley

Additional Cross-Listed Courses in Politics

AMST
185b
The Culture of the Cold War
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ss
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Addresses American political culture from the end of World War II until the revival of liberal movements and radical criticism. Focuses on the specter of totalitarianism, the "end of ideology," McCarthyism, the crisis of civil liberties, and the strains on the pluralistic consensus in an era of anti-Communism. Usually offered every second year.Mr. Whitfield

HIST
160a
American Legal History I
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ss
]
Surveys American legal development from colonial settlement to the Civil War. Major issues include law as an instrument of revolution, capitalism and contract, invention of the police, family law, slavery law, and the Civil War as a constitutional crisis. Usually offered every third year.Mr. Willrich

IGS/LGLS
128b
Networks of Global Justice
[
ss
]
Course to be taught at Brandeis program in The Hague.Examines how global justice is actively shaped by dynamic institutions, contested ideas, and evolving cultures. Using liberal arts methods, the course explores prospects for advancing peace and justice in a complex world. For a laboratory it accesses courts, tribunals, rights initiatives, and research projects found in The Hague—a global hub for some of the world’s most intractable conflicts. Usually offered every year.Mr. Gaskins

SOC
123b
The Welfare State and Nonprofit America
[
ss
]
Studies major programs of the welfare state in social security, health, and welfare, as well as local nonprofits in youth development and other human services, national foundations, social entrepreneurism, AmeriCorps, and other forms of community service. Usually offered every year.Ms. Sirianni